"Nothing short of legendary": Remembering Prof. Hinton Bradbury

Sun. Jan. 12, 2025

Prof. Hinton Bradbury, Professor of Psychology passed away June 12, 2024. As Prof. Derrick Bourassa, Chair of the Department of Psychology, tells us, Prof. Bradbury was very much the heart of the Department from his more than 20-year term as Chair to his commitment to hiring those who, like him, valued research and teaching. He had an extraordinary gift as a teacher, and was, as Prof. Bourassa states, “nothing short of legendary.”

Carolynn Smallwood, Department Assistant in Psychology, created this “Hinton bulletin board” in the Department as a tribute to him. 

Photo credit: Carolynn Smallwood

Dr. Derrick Bourassa on the remarkable Prof. Hinton Bradbury

Hinton will be remembered for his voluminous knowledge of psychology and its history, for his wit, for his skill as a raconteur, and as a fierce promoter of the Department.

Hinton contributed 50 years of outstanding service to the University of Winnipeg, including over 20 years as Chair of the Psychology Department. As Chair he was instrumental in forming and maintaining a department known for its excellence in research and teaching. Among our group of 19 faculty members, Hinton played a strong role in the hiring of 16 of us. He had a very high bar when it came to faculty performance, particularly in the classroom, because student success was a high priority for him.

As a teacher, Hinton was nothing short of legendary. Hinton never saw a textbook he didn’t hate – for him, original works, and in-depth discussions of those works, were the way to go. His classes were not merely lectures. He had a remarkable ability to make complex concepts accessible and engaging, often interweaving humor into his lessons to make learning both enlightening and enjoyable. His wit and warmth made students feel seen and valued, creating a classroom atmosphere that was intellectually stimulating and deeply supportive. Indeed, Hinton had a following of students; these “Bradburians” would take as many of Hinton’s courses as possible. In fact, in each of the last few years, merry bands of “Bradburians” from Hinton’s Freud courses begged him to set up a summer course focusing on the works of Carl Jung.  Predictably, Hinton obliged, teaching the course pro bono.

Those Freud and Jung courses were Honours-level courses, and our Honours program was particularly close to Hinton’s heart. For example, he felt that every faculty member had the responsibility to supervise Honours student research projects, and he certainly walked the walk. Throughout his career he supervised dozens and dozens of Honours theses. And what’s remarkable is that he didn’t slow down in his later years (slowing down was a foreign concept to Hinton); he continued to supervise 2 or 3 students per year – again, a testament to his dedication to students.

This dedication is underscored in a piece, “No Freudian slip,” by Jill Wilson in “Applause,” her weekly newsletter for the Winnipeg Free Press (WFP). Wilson writes about her experience as a former student of Prof. Bradbury’s psychology classes: “We learned about how the stories we tell ourselves (and others) are both as old as time and as unique as the person telling them — a lesson that applies both to psychology and the arts. In a way, he prepared me to be a critic before I ever dreamed of doing such a thing.”

Prof. Bradbury was also dedicated to family, community, and neighbourhood in meaningful and tangible ways. In “Scholarship and goodwill” (August 16, 2024), WFP journalist Ben Waldman writes a tribute to Prof. Bradbury in “Life’s Story,” a weekly WFP Passages feature. Working with the memories and anecdotes of those closest to him, Waldman so adeptly describes Prof. Bradbury as someone who was “larger than life” not just in his professional life but in his personal and family life.

Finally, we reached out to Dr. Beverley Fehr, both a former student and colleague of Dr. Bradbury. (Dr. Fehr was a contributor to the piece “Scholarship and goodwill.”) Dr. Fehr summed up her thoughts about Dr. Bradbury in a single line, in such a way as only those who are close to us can do. Dr. Fehr states, “I would characterize him as brilliant, having an unmatchable vocabulary and wit, who cared deeply about the Psychology Department and his students.”